The Trump administration is in a quandary because studies by experts in conjunction with classified intelligence reports have concluded that North Korea has acquired the ability to produce one Nuclear Bomb every six or seven weeks. It is difficult to verify such information but Donald Trump is worried because time is running out.
North Korea is progressing at a fast rate
According to New York Times, the determination in North Korea’s approach is gradually showing up. Till now, American presidents used to keep tabs on nuclear programs of North Korea like its nuclear test, or a new variant of a missile.
These were matters of worry but were not taken seriously.
However, the country is now believed to be ready with nuclear bombs that could reach Seattle – and this could happen in a couple of years. Siegfried S. Hecker, a Stanford professor who has visited the North Korean facilities seven times, has summed up the situation in this way. He had directed the Los Alamos weapons laboratory in New Mexico from 1986 to 1887, the birthplace of the atomic bomb.
The threat of North Korea’s sixth nuclear test is looming large and it would be the sixth one in a span of 11 years. Its last three tests had generated Hiroshima-size explosions.
Donald Trump cannot ignore the signs. He expressed his feelings when he said that people had not bothered about North Korea for decades and it is now time for action.
He wants United Nations Security Council to consider imposing more restrictive sanctions, including that of energy supplies.
The Chinese connection
President Xi Jinping of China had talked over the phone with President Donald Trump and urged for restraint in dealing with North Korea. That could be the background for Trump’s message to the UNSC about sanctions.
The unpredictability of Trump could play an important role to pacify China and keep North Korea in check.
In the opinion of people in the know, the strength of North Korea’s nuclear arsenal could reach the 50 mark by the time Donald Trump’s term ends. It has been working on the sly and could spring a surprise because American officials believe that Pyongyang has mastered the art of miniaturizing the weapons for easy installation on its missiles, irrespective of range.
That is certainly not good news for South Korea and Japan, and the large number of American troops deployed there. The destructive power of the five blasts that North has carried out over the past decade has continued to increase and that is a matter of concern for the world.
North Korea is believed to be holding an inventory of 1,000 ballistic missiles in at least eight varieties and Kim Jong Un, the leader, continues to dream of targeting one of the main cities of the USA with his nuclear bomb.
